A United Nations report Monday criticized Australia's immigration camp on Papua New Guinea, warning living conditions are harsh and asylum seekers' detention arbitrary.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard rallied her Labor party Sunday, saying her government was “not done yet” despite a turbulent week in which two of her most senior ministers resigned.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard Saturday denied that her government was in chaos, after the resignation of two of her most senior ministers prompted a cabinet reshuffle ahead of a national election.

The Australian government Friday lodged a protest with Tokyo after a ship from the Japanese whaling fleet entered its exclusive economic zone in the Southern Ocean near Macquarie Island.

Australian police on Thursday arrested a member of parliament accused of spending union money on prostitutes, air travel and lavish meals and charged him with 149 counts of fraud, reports said.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard Thursday told Australians to “relax” after giving them eight months' notice of elections, insisting they will not be put through a marathon, bitter campaign.

An Indonesian crewman who abandoned a stalled people-smuggling ship has washed up on a remote Australian island after days clinging to a piece of driftwood following the breakup of his makeshift raft.

Australia faces a possible fourth straight year of political instability after opposition leader Tony Abbott, on track to win power in a September election, threatened a second poll if a hostile upper house rejects his plan to scrap a tax on carbon.

Military personnel headed to flood-ravaged northeast Australia on Wednesday to help clean up the sludgy aftermath of floods that damaged thousands of homes and businesses and left some communities short of power, food and water.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard surprised Australians on Wednesday by announcing that elections will be held Sept. 14, in a country where governments have traditionally given the opposition little more than a month's notice to keep a strategic advantage.